The Redhawks handled their cross town rival and for the second straight year they were able hoist the coveted ax.
BLYTHEWOOD – Friday night the Redhawks’ football team made the three-mile cross-town trip to Bengal Stadium to face Blythewood High. When the dust settled, the Redhawks came home with their second win by a score of 18-7 and their second straight win over their cross-town rivals.
While the Blythewood head coach declined to speak with the Voice, both before and after the game. Westwood head coach Dustin Curtis predicted a good game.
“Both teams have explosive players offensively and have good players on defense,” said Curtis. “We need to take care of the ball in order to put points on the board. We have a lot of playmakers to take the pressure off of a few players.”
During last week’s Ridge View game, the Bengals threw minimal passes in the Quinton Patten and Jaylon Boyd show. The quarterback-receiver pair was unstoppable.
“If you lunge at guys like them, they will blow right past you and leave you in the dirt,” Curtis said. “Tonight, I hope we can force them to take to the air.”
During the first Bengal possession, the Redhawk defense only let Patten get loose once for 14 yards. Boyd was completely neutralized, rushing only twice for 2 yards each time. The drive ended when Patten was sacked by defensive end Joseph Washington for a ten-yard loss. Patten tried his magic on fourth down and sixteen from the Westwood 34 yard line but failed and turned the ball over on downs.
After a 17-yard rush by Deshawn Boyd on the first play of Westwood’s first drive, not much else transpired and Westwood was forced to punt. Blythewood caught a break after going four and out. Jacob Owens’ punt was retrieved and then fumbled by Redhawk Reggie Harry. Bengal Rhett James recovered the fumble at the Westwood 42.
Jaylon Boyd (34) carries the weight of three Redhawk defenders as he grinds out every yard. | Photos: Leroy Howard
Blythewood got no further than the Westwood 36-yard line. The punt took a Blythewood bounce, which initially seemed to cost them dearly. Westwood quarterback Ahmon Green handed off to Jalen Briggman, but was thrown for a 2-yard loss at the hands of Blythewood’s Patrick Godbolt. Initially the officials called a safety Blythewood took a 2-0 lead. The officials conferred and reversed the call, and the quarter ended with no score.
The second quarter got off to a promising start for the Redhawks. A 13-yard rush by D. Boyd gave them some breathing room before a 45-yard pass to D. Wise in traffic landed them in Blythewood territory. The Redhawks couldn’t covert points during the 13-play, seven-minute drive.
King Ford had replaced Patten due to the latter’s injury. J. Boyd got a way for 20 yards, but that was the biggest play for the remainder of the half and they went into the locker-rooms with the score still tied 0-0.
Westwood opened the second half with the first possession and a big play. Cortes Braham caught the ball on the Westwood 18-yard line and returned it 56 yards to the Blythewood 26. Faced with a fourth and two, D. Boyd went hey diddle diddle, right up the middle for 13 yards to set up the Westwood touchdown two plays later when Green walked it in. The Redhawks struggled with points after, however. With no placekicking to offer, they rushed for two each time and were stopped each time.
Some additional big plays put more Redhawk points on the board. After taking over on downs, Green hit Christian Horn 40 yards down field from the Redhawk 45. Then, from inside the red zone, Green fired another one to Braham in the end zone.
Blythewood’s next drive went 8 plays with two first downs, but they were halted at the Redhawk 48. The quarter ended with the Redhawks up 12-0.
Nicolas Roger (6) tries to bring down Westwood quarterback Ahmon Green.
The Bengals hit paydirt when Ford completed a 34-yard pass to Joshua Burrell at the goal line with 8:38 to go in the game. Jerry Finney’s PAT kick was good, narrowing the score to 12-7.
The insurance play for Westwood occurred with just over five minutes left in the game. Ford’s pass was intercepted by Washington, who returned it 26-yards for a pick-six. That left the Bengals needing two scores without much time on the clock.
Ford went to the air for most of the Bengals’ next 15-play possession, which ran a meager 3:48 off the clock. Westwood’s next possession left time on the clock, and Blythewood got one more chance with two seconds to go. Ford’s pass was intercepted by Cam Atkins and returned 73 yards to the BHS 18.
“We didn’t play composed football, we have a lot of work to do,” Curtis said following the game. “Hats off to Blythewood, they stuck to their game plan but just couldn’t get the big play. The win? We’ll take it, but if Patten didn’t get hurt, who knows.”
The team toted the rivalry axe back to Westwood for the second consecutive year. Next Friday, the Redhawks travel to Lower Richland to take on the Diamond Hornets. The Bengals will go to Winnsboro to do battle with the Fairfield Central Griffins.
SCORING
BHS– 0-0-0-7-7
WHS– 0-0-12-6-18
Third Quarter
WHS– Ahmon Green 1 run. (A.Green pass failed).8:55.
WHS– Cortes Braham 16 pass from A.Green. (A.Green pass failed).5:59
Fourth Quarter
BHS– Joshua Burrell 34 pass from King Ford. (Jerry Finney kick).8:38.
WHS– Joseph Washington 29 interception return. (A.Green pass failed).5:26.
TEAM STATS BHS WHS
First Downs 14 11
Rushes/Yards 32-64 38-35
Passing Yards 120 187
C-A-I-TD 14-26-2-1 10-20–0-1
Fumbles/ Lost 1/0 3/2
Penalties/Yards 5-55 9-55
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: WHS- Deshawn Boyd 8-45, Cam Atkins 1-(-1), Ahmon Green 15-(-1),Jalen Briggman 4-(-8). BHS- Jaylon Boyd 16-74, Quinton Patten 4-8, Brandon Edwards 3-3, David Patten 2-(-3), Jacob Owens 1-(-9), King Ford 6-(-9).
Receiving: WHS- Cortes Braham 4-41, Christian Horn 3-71, D. Wise 2-66, Deshawn Boyd 1-9. BHS- Jacob Owens 5-48, Brandon Edwards 4-16, Joshua Burrell 3-48, Kevon Catoe 1-9, Jaylon Boyd 1-(-1).
Passing: WHS- Ahmon Green 10-20, 187 yards, one touchdown. BHS – King Ford 12-24 103 yards, one touchdown, two interception.
